The 250-pound back had four touchdown runs and New England kept Andrew Luck from a second straight comeback win, beating the Indianapolis Colts 43-22 on Saturday night.

Blount scored on three 2-yard runs in the first half, then burst through the right side of the line and rambled 73 yards on a field made soggy by a game-long rain. He finished with 166 yards on 24 carries.

On the next series, Luck threw his third interception and the Patriots capitalized with Stevan Ridley's second touchdown run, a 1-yarder that finished the scoring with 11:12 left.

"Once I get into the open field, they're going to have to chase me," Blount said. "And if they catch me, they do. And if they don't, they don't. They usually don't."

The Patriots (13-4) will face the winner of Sunday's game between the Broncos and Chargers. It will be in Denver if the Broncos win, and New England will host it if the Chargers win. The Colts (12-6) never led.

"It's just a great achievement," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "People have counted us out at times this year, but we've got a locker room full of believers."

Blount joined Ricky Watters, who had five touchdowns for the 49ers against the New York Giants on Jan. 15, 1994, as the only players with four or more in a playoff game.

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His big rushing performance came two weeks after he ran for 189 yards in a 34-20 win over Buffalo in the regular-season finale.

"He's got that combination of size, power and quickness and speed," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "He can run hard. He can make guys miss and he can go the distance."

Billed as a matchup between quarterbacks -- long-time great Brady and second-year star Luck -- the Patriots' leader was content to hand off while Luck threw an interception on his second pass and never found consistency. He threw two touchdown passes to LaVon Brazill but also threw four interceptions.

Luck had three interceptions a week earlier but led the Colts from a 38-10 deficit in the third quarter to a 45-44 win over Kansas City in a wild-card game.

The Colts trailed 21-12 at halftime against the Patriots and cut it to 29-22 on a 35-yard pass to Brazill with 5:01 left in the third quarter. The Patriots dominated the rest of the way.

"I'm just disappointed in myself," Luck said. "I can't commit that many turnovers and have a chance to win against a great team like this."

Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes was placed on injured reserve Monday partly because he was late for practice last week, league sources told ESPN. Spikes had been hobbled by a knee injury for much of the season.